


Take my hand for we shall walk this road together till we reach the end

by helenabarbara



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Cars, Cute, Declarations Of Love, Dialogue, Homophobic Language, Idiots in Love, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Snow and Ice, Talking, like two words or something, lots of, tiniest bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-02
Updated: 2014-10-02
Packaged: 2018-02-19 15:42:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2393909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helenabarbara/pseuds/helenabarbara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>His mother always warned him about hitchhikers. But she never warned him about the pretty-and-you-sort-of-know-them ones.</i><br/> <br/>Or the one where Harry dreads driving home and a certain someone might be the perfect solution.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take my hand for we shall walk this road together till we reach the end

**Author's Note:**

  * For [allyouneedisloveandtea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/allyouneedisloveandtea/gifts).



> mostly inspired by my girlfriend.
> 
> you can find the poem used for the title and in the fic here:  
> http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/these-roads-2/

_As with any journey,_   
_who you travel with can be more important  
than your destination._

* * *

Harry groaned. He was dreading the last few hours in the car, without Liam he had grown bored quickly. There wasn’t any good music on the radio and the commercials gave him a headache. The roads seemed endless and in the past thirty minutes it had begun to snow, like they had profusely warned drivers for on the radio. Even though it was beautiful, Harry hated the snow this evening. It was blocking his sight of the road and the windscreen wipers made this horrific screeching sound, he was so ready to kill someone. Fantasising about murdering a person by stabbing him or her with one of the windscreen wipers was very pleasing, but Harry shook his head and laughed a little at his thinking. No wonder Niall had nicknamed him _Slender man_. He (Niall) still deserved that smack, though. It’s not like Harry is ever going to admit that he may have been right, like Harry wasn’t _that_ creepy or remarkably tall – just lanky. It did keep them entertained for a while. They had gone to see Zayn’s first real performance as a DJ in Glasgow, the three of them not able to refuse the boy’s excited face and big brown eyes. He even went as far as doing a victory dance when they all agreed to come. Liam fuzzed over the weather and traffic but the ride went smoothly with almost no congestion, the lad was born a worryguts. The gig was, to say the least, amazing. The whole stage was decorated all autumn-y and Zayn’s mixes were even better than the samples he let them listen to. Liam and he had said goodbye to Niall at Glasgow Airport, who’d go back to Ireland for the week. They stayed the night in Wolverhampton and harry made the wrong decision by staying for dinner the next day. Liam almost persuaded him to stay another night (and then he ended up staying another week), but he really had to get back to London. He had taken too many days off already and didn’t want to get fired; he really couldn’t afford that right now.

The snow was steadily falling down, large flakes hitting the window of Harry’s beaten car. It was like they were trying to get inside. He shivered and turned the heater up a tad, fall never was his favourite season. He pouted when no music he liked was on the radio, the sound of his own breathing and the snow hitting his car it was then. Turning on his big lights, he noticed that a car was sloppily parked on the side of the road. Harry bit his lip and slowed down. He knew it wasn’t smart, but there were no lights on in the car except that of what seemed to be a phone screen. The person inside would freeze without the heater on. He shut down the engine and stepped out of his car. With clattering teeth and a hand failingly trying to protect him from the falling snow, Harry slowly made his way towards the other vehicle. He knocked on the window, calling out an “oi, mate!”

The person, seemingly a man, opened the door. Harry went on, “you alright in there? It’s kinda freezing, so I thought-”

“ _Harry?_ ” Oh yes, just his luck. He’d recognise that voice anywhere. It could have been anyone, but no - of course Harry would knock on his former friend and crush’s window. He smacked his forehead and laughed a little. _Nice going, dummy._

“Louis, I wasn’t expecting it to be you,” he said nervously. Louis smiled, or _sparkled_ , at him and it was very endearing how happy he was to see Harry. Though he looked a little odd while doing so, as his lips were tinted blue.

“I’d declare you crazy if you did, mate.” How did clattering teeth become attractive all of a sudden? Harry wondered if there were people with a fetish for that. He then decided to take a risk, as the snow was falling rapidly and even though this unexpected reunion pleasantly surprised him, it was freezing cold out here.

“Get in my car, you’re gonna freeze to death if you stay in there without the heating on any longer.” And it was as simple as that. Louis nodded and grabbed a backpack from the passengerseat and got out of his car. Harry barely held back a sigh because the boy was wearing a sweater that was way too big on him. His hands were like tiny little _paws_.

They were silent for a while, with soft groans coming from harry every time the wipers made that horrible sound (he couldn't help it, the noise was so high pitchescenes hurting his ears). Now he’d come down from the high of having Louis in his car, Harry took some time to think. He didn’t even know what Louis was doing on the side of the road. They hadn’t spoken for so many years, still it felt like they said goodbye yesterday. Well, he remembered it like it was yesterday. Louis was still so beautiful and Harry never realised how much he had missed him. Ever since they met, the boy confused him. His jittery personality and witty sense of humour, opposed to the complete seriousness – Harry just couldn’t wrap his head around it. Niall and Liam were easy; he never even tried to see through Zayn. But Louis was someone else. He was everything but transparent. When they first met, Harry didn’t know if they clicked. He only received cold stares and no smiles at all. Turned out Louis was just an odd one. And always tired, he explained when Harry (finally) dared to ask about the cold stares he’d been giving him for the past three months. It was awkward, to say the least. Harry’s middle name was Awkward. Harry Awkward Styles, it was fitting.

“Where exactly are you heading?” Harry was shaken out of his, now realised also dangerous, interesting train of thoughts by Louis’s question. It was legit, Harry thought. He was surprised Louis hadn’t asked before they piled into Harry’s car. For all he knew Harry was heading for some nasty old village far away from his destination. He wasn’t, but Louis didn’t know that.

“London, I’m trying to go home.”

“Oh, that’s great! I was going there as well. Until my car, you know, broke down.” Harry snorted at his dry tone. “Pretty weird, huh.”

“What?”

Louis stumbled over his words. “This, it’s like I saw you yesterday while it’s been five years or something.”

“Yeah, right? I really missed you, Lou.” The tension was successfully broken. It was almost like they went back to their schooldays, causing havoc during class. The car was filled with nostalgia and laughter – Harry felt happy, his chest was warm and it was almost as if the snowfall had lessened. It hadn’t, but whatever. In Harry’s eyes it did. He wondered how the others were going to react when he told them about this, or maybe even reunited them. Niall and Louis had to make up to have that happen, though. They had a nasty fight before the latter moved away and they never made up. They never found out what it was about. Niall said he was fine but they could all see he was everything but – if the tears in his eyes were anything to go by. None of them ever picked a side, but the contact with Louis deteriorated and eventually came to a stop. They stopped Skyping, or travelling around during the holidays. There wasn’t a specific reason, just the distance that made it harder and more difficult to stay friends. But Harry had missed him, he missed him so much. Almost as if he was heartbroken and in some way, he was.

❄ ❄ ❄

“Ah, shit,” he cursed when the car started to slip on the frozen snow. “I was hoping my tires would be able to take it, but this isn’t safe.” Stupid snowstorm. He manoeuvred the car to the road shoulder and turned off the engine. He sighed and turned in his seat. “I got some blankets in the back; we should be okay with those and the heater on.” Louis nodded at the idea and undid his seatbelt. He fixed his sweater as it had ridden up and crawled to the rear seat, fumbling with the little handle and pushing the chairs to create more space. It wouldn’t budge and he turned around.

“Can you tilt these?” he asked when it didn’t work. Harry crooked a smile and winked at him. He reached over to pull the handle instead of pushing it like Louis did, who just blushed while Harry showed him and tapped his red cheeks (that only made him blush even more). Harry started pulling blankets from the car trunk, throwing them over his shoulder. He turned around when there were no more left and started laughing. Louis was barely visible underneath all the blankets. The boy just stared at him and asked, “Why on earth do you have so many?”

“Niall gets cold real quick and he whines about all the time, so I took some precautionary measures and threw in a bunch for the last trip,” he shrugged carelessly. The corners of Louis’s mouth trembled a little and Harry couldn’t help but notice it.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, why do you ask?” He sighed and grabbed Louis’s arm to make him look at him.

“You miss Niall.”

“Maybe.” Harry was there when they fought. He didn’t know why but he did know they were both devastated. Niall had cried in his very arms when Louis left, for god’s sake. He clenched his fists.

“I know you are both hurting, Louis. It’s not like we forgot about you the moment you got in that van.” Louis huffed, but Harry knew he wasn’t going to fight him.

“Fine, I miss him. I missed all of you. But I needed to get used to life without you, if you get what I mean. I went to a new school, in a new neighbourhood and with new people. I couldn’t stick to the past and stay all on my own. You know I can’t do that.” Louis did tell him about his fear of being lonely. How he always looked for the big crowds. And Harry understood that.

“Let’s finish this makeshift bed; we can talk about it later.” Harry pulled the very last blanket from behind the seats and pushed them down, so there was (almost) enough space for them to sleep. Louis had started to make a matrass of blanket. It looked pretty soft, to be honest.

“So,” he said when they both collapsed on their own piles of softness. “Why did you fight?”

He only received a stare. “Come on, Louis. There is a reason and you know it, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine.” Louis told him that yes, he wanted to tell him but he didn’t know what Harry’s reaction was going to be.

“It was stupid. Looking back, I just want to slap myself in the face.” He grimaced. “You remember that boy who was on the team with me, right? Mikey was his name. Well, he told he was gay. He confided in me of all persons and I punched him. I don’t know why, it was the first thing that came into my mind. He was one of the, as my dad called them, faggots. Niall was there and got mad at me. I had never seen him so mad in my entire life. He called me a homophobe and a disgusting human being. I was. Eventually he brought Mikey to the school nurse while I was standing there frozen on the field. It then dawned on me that I punched one of my mates for something he couldn’t control. Something I couldn’t control either, even if I punched him till he was dead. Niall still hated me when I left and I can’t blame him. Especially not after I found out I am not entirely straight myself.” Louis was sniffing and blinking rapidly, but he wasn’t crying. It was a beautiful sight. You could clearly see the hurt and he felt it, but he was fighting it. Even though he knew he deserved it, he still protected himself. Harry reached for his hand and gently squeezed it, in an attempt at comforting him.

“You need to fix this, Louis.”

“I know.” They were silent again. It happened a lot. They would have a conversation and just fall still for a while.

“Don’t you hate me?” Louis asked with a tiny voice. Harry shook his head and smiled.

“You realised your mistake, I think that is the most important.” That made him look up. “Nevertheless, you were being a homophobic bastard and Niall had the full right to be mad at you. He really was torn up about the whole situation, but he didn’t want to tell us what happened. He was still protecting you, Louis. In spite of his hurt, he didn’t want us to be mad as well.” Now he said it out loud, Harry gained so much respect for Niall. The boy always seemed so superficial, but that was probably just an act. Oh, he wished to know what Niall was thinking at that exact moment he turned down all of their questions. Louis recoiled at his harsh words, but he nodded and told him he fully agreed with him.

“Niall is a friend worth keeping,” he said. “I’m glad you all are still friends.”

“You always stayed our friend, too, you know that? We never hated you and Niall calmed down eventually.” Louis simpered.

“I would love to meet up with them again and all that, but I’m afraid they will get mad at me – on account of discovering what Niall and I fought about. For we have to tell Zayn and Liam eventually, right?”

Harry hummed in acknowledgement. He doubted they would get _angry._ Indignant, yes, but only because Harry heard it first. When you really got to know them you would see that those two are like puppies; they bark a lot, but hurting anyone is not on the list. Niall and he came up with that theory in ninth grade and it has been valid ever since they did. He voiced this to Louis, in the hope it would lift his spirit. It cheered him up indeed and they traded their best stories about middle and high school. Those were the days, like Liam always said. Harry revealed most of Niall’s clumsy acts, making them both snicker. They even sung a song all five of them came up with while completely sloshed. Typical teenage humour. (It was a little too obscene to repeat, but the lyrics ranged from ‘booze’ to ‘boobies’. The latter was mostly Niall’s doing.)

When their laughter died down and was replaced with yawning, Harry proposed they would turn off the lights and get under the blankets. Louis accepted his suggestion gratefully. Both of them were petered out, yet they kept talking; whatever came to mind was said. The raving blizzard seemed so far away. Like they had their own little bubble and the rest of the world didn’t exist. They hadn’t been speaking for a moment when, with a rush of affection (sleepy Louis was the best), Harry started to recite a poem.

“Walking through these streets,” he whispered, barely heard above the raging storm outside the car. “Meeting crossroads of hope and some of loss.”

“Go on, I like it,” Louis mumbled when harry stopped. He snuggled closer and sighed in what seemed contentment.

“Will I take the right road, will I venture into the curves and bumps carved into the foundation formed from years of repetitive travel,” he took a breath. “I am not the only one who travels these roads. Passing by with tears in their eyes are ones who travel with hope in their hearts to find that glimpse of happiness and sanity in for which they look. I must indure my sentance of weary travel. My friend we shall not travel this road alone,  
take my hand for we shall walk this road together till we reach the end.” Something cool touched his hand and harry bit back a grin when Louis’s hand slipped in his. “It’s, ehm, a poem by Amanda Marie Testino. I once mesmerised it and remembered it since then. Like – like you.”

“Like me?”

“I never got over you, Louis.” Even in the dark, Harry could see him frown. He could see it in the way his eyes dulled. He hated it. It was like Louis’s whole existence just deflated, as he rarely had that facial expression. “When you moved away, it was like my heart was empty and nothing mattered anymore.”

“You never lost that cheesiness, didn’t you,” Louis teased, but his tone was flat. It sounded nothing like him.

“It’s my special talent.”

“I know.” They fell silent again. Louis's hands were shaking but neither of them mentioned it. And if Harry grasped them a little tighter, no one had to know.   
  
“It wasn't just a tiny crush, you know,” he began. The sudden sound of his voice made them both recoil. “I was quite sure I was in love with you and Niall said I should tell you so we could have our happily ever after, but every time he said that I told him to cut the crap and stop bullshitting me. You were my friend and I didn't want to ruin our friendship, because it felt like something special. Or maybe that was just my lovesick brain telling me lies. It got even harder when you said you were moving away, your smile brightened my day -”   
  
He was cut off by something touching his lips and _oh my god Louis was kissing him_. It was like his head exploded. It was over before he knew it, but his lips were tingling and his mind went haywire during that kiss. The tingles and Louis’s sweaty hands told him it really just happened and he grinned. It maybe sounded silly and cliché, but it felt like the best moment of his life. His long-term crush just kissed him. The one he thought he had lost forever. The one who’s name was Louis. He squeezed the soft hand and giggled a bit. It ended up as a little competition who could squeeze the hardest. Both of them were laughing and the sappy atmosphere was gone. It was like they were back in high school and play wrestling on the floor of Louis’s bedroom again. They did that a lot. Harry always tried to think of it as a thing friends do, but maybe Louis saw it differently, too? He realised he wanted Louis to. He longed for Louis to never leave him, to touch and kiss him. He wanted to wake up next to him and fall asleep in the same spot. Everything he used to feel for this boy came back and it was as if his heart swelled up in his chest. He needed more. He needed Louis. He needed Louis to be his. He sat up straight.

“I need you to be mine.” He blurted out, but didn’t regret it. He dealt with the loss of Louis once; he could do it again if this didn’t work out. He felt strong and confident all of a sudden. That kiss awakened a whole new part of him.

Louis tilted his head to look at him. “Are you being serious?”

Harry nodded his head. “I love you. Have ever since you told me you were always tired.”

It was completely silent in the car. Then Louis spoke up again. “I love you too.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I really do. So, Harry Awkward Styles, are you interested in going steady with me?”

“I am, Louis Tommo the Perpetually Tired.” They cracked up.

When their laughter died down, Harry switched the light back on and looked at the car clock. It was nearly twelve o’clock at night. “We should have waited till midnight.”

Louis smacked his chest. “You are so corny!” His eyes were shining with mirth and Harry grinned at him.

“You know you love it,” He teased and poked Louis’s side, who squeaked and slapped his arm.

“I do, very much.” They kissed again. Harry could get used to this. He would rather quit his life and kiss Louis forever, not even kidding. Although he didn’t know how he would pay his rent and keep his flat in that fantasy, because always kissing outside was a bit cold. It will only be reality in Harry’s head, then. Such a shame. Some fantasies aren’t meant to be real, he reasoned. Though, he had fantasied this since secondary school. Little Harry was doing a victory dance, praising him for his courage. He deserved gold for this. He had to do with Louis, but he was like platinum – and Harry rather had Louis in his arms than a golden medal around his neck. The gold would be gold, but Louis was warm. He would carry the medal close to his heart, but he carried Louis with him in his heart. His heart that was currently bursting with love. He opened his eyes (why hadn’t he before?) and saw Louis looking at him funny. He was beaming and so, so beautiful.

“You’re so beautiful.” He blushed.

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.” Louis was bright red by now. He was holding back a grin, though. Harry could see it in his eyes. “Freedom of speech, I win!” he declared triumphantly. His boyfriend ( _boyfriend_ ) rolled his eyes at him and chuckled.

“Fine, if you insist, dandy boy.” Harry fake-gasped at him.

“How very dare you!”

“I am a real daredevil.” He affirmed with a smooch on Harry’s cheek. “You better watch your steps, young man.”

Harry wiped his cheek with an exaggerated sigh. “Just my luck, stuck with a daredevil in my car.”

“I guess it is your unlucky day!” Harry ducked down and snogged him. He almost fell and it was a bit rougher than he meant it to be but Louis seemed to like it. He kissing him back just as fiercely with no signs he was going to stop anytime soon. Harry was quite enjoying it himself. They had to pull back to catch their breath and looked at each other – both of their chests were heaving and their lips were kissed red. They were like a poem Harry once read about loving.

“I’m so glad I knocked on your window,” Harry panted. Louis complied with a soft “me too” and pressed their foreheads together. Blue met green like oceans and palm trees. The moment was broken when they yawned in sync. Harry turned the light off again and they laid down, spooning.

Louis fell asleep quickly but Harry was still awake; he was taking in the warmth of Louis’s body and the squalls outside. He couldn’t believe his (boy)friend was peacefully sleeping on his chest. The bloke he was pining after the whole time they were friends – and now he was within reach. And he had to explain an awful lot to the others, because “yeah, I knocked on his car window and then we kissed on a bed of blankets in the middle of a blizzard” was not very believable. Even though it is the true tale. He ought to send them all a text in the morning, it’s the least he can do. He kind of owed them that, especially Niall. In the end he closed his eyes and let the exhaustion take over. He was out like a light in a bout and dreamt about sparkling blue eyes and poetry.

❄ ❄ ❄

“Good morning, sleepy head.” Harry was awoken by something tapping his cheek and cooing close to his ear. He blinked at the morning light, not even nearly ready to face the bright world. Louis's smile (and eyes that glimmered while he did so) being the brightest of that - but also the reason why he opened his own eyes. 

“Good morning,” he drawled with a croaky voice. God, he was tired. Something was pushed into his half open hand. “What is this?”

“Raisin cookies, I found them in my backpack. It’s the only edible thing I could find, really.” Harry took a bite. They tasted quite good. He looked around and caught Louis’s eye. He blushed and smiled at him.

“How are the roads today?” They both peeked through the window. Louis shook his head.

“We need to wait until they de-ice them; it is still not safe to drive.”

Harry cursed. “Liam is going to worry his butt off; I told him it was about a three hours’ drive and he’s probably trying to follow me by tracking my phone or something.” Louis burst out laughing.

“Now you are just taking the mick.”

“I am, but sometimes I think he actually tracks me.” It was a possibility. He could picture Liam sitting behind his computer, registering everything he, Niall and Zayn were doing. Now he really thought about it, it became a little terrifying. “I need to ask him if he does that.”

Louis gave him a firm nod and took another cookie to munch on. “You totally should.”

Around noon, they were able to use the roads again. With a two hours’ drive left, they quickly packed up the litter (or dumping it in a corner of the sleeping space) and Harry crawled behind the wheel. “Here we go, babes.” Louis let out a cute little whoop and thrust a fist into the air. He leaned over and kissed Harry on the cheek.

“London, here we come.”

With the exception of a quick fuel-and-buy stop, they drove the last hundred mile in one go. The roads were de-iced, so the car did not slip every five fricking seconds anymore. The weather changed and the sun even peeked from behind a cloud. The snow alongside the road was glistering and in some spots there were puddles. Again, there was not any good music on the radio but Harry didn’t dread the last hour anymore. The car was silent and the only thing heard was the engine and the sound of breathing, just like last night. The big difference was, that the breathing he listened to wasn’t just his own. After their quick stop Louis had fallen asleep. It was such a precious sight, also a reason why Harry turned off the radio. He liked those cute little snores much better than Jason Derulo’s new song about sex and butts. Louis’s knees were drawn up to his chest and his hands were hidden under the fabric of his too big sweater. He looked very cuddly, to say the least. He was still knocked out when they neared London and harry really did not want to wake him. He considered Louis wouldn’t mind if he drove all the way home. They could see it as a first step, knowing where the other lived. Whether they were going to go steady or not Harry still wanted to stay in touch with him, now he was living so much closer. He parked the car in the private car park of his building and shut off the car. He then proceeded to wake up Louis and tell him where they were. The chap agreed to a cuppa (and lunch, because they did not have any of that) and a tour around Harry’s flat. They entered and Harry showed him the kitchen, telling him to sit at the counter while he put on the kettle. Louis looked around the wide space.

“Nice kitchen.” Harry shrugged.

“I like to cook. Sugar?” They took their steaming cups to the living room and sunk down on the cushions. Louis was taking very small sips of the liquid and Harry unintentionally watched him doing so.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You enchant me,” he said simply. “I was relishing the fact that you are now my boyfriend, after all those years.” He huffed when Louis cooed at him. “I’m being serious, Lou. I honestly thought I would never see you again in my life. Do you know that feeling?” Louis responded by giving him a quiet “yes” and staring at his tea. Harry exhaled loudly and stood up. He stretched his legs and groaned at the cracking of his joints.

“D’you fancy a sandwich or something? We haven’t had lunch yet.”

❄ ❄ ❄

They ended up going to a small café nearby. When he just moved to London, Harry used to come there almost every week; the food was amazing and cheap. It was perfect for anyone with not a lot of money. The service was great too. After they had lunch, Louis took him to the park where he always takes his evening strolls. There were children playing in the snow, having snowball fights and making snowmen. Harry pulled him towards one of the benches and they sat down, watching the kids toy around. Louis turned to him and asked, “do you want kids some day?” Harry sincerely told him that, yes, he wanted to have youngsters running around the house. He preferably wanted to raise them with Louis himself, but he didn’t that say out loud. If they stayed together he would tell him. Not until a couple months at least. He would love to have them with him, withal. Louis smiled at him and looked at the children again.

“I do, too.”

After a long walk through the lovely park, they returned to Harry’s flat. While he was in the bathroom taking a wee, Louis was checking out his film collection. Harry had been into that once, collecting films. He looked up with shining eyes and Harry’s current favourite in his hand. They watched it (of course) huddled together on Harry’s leather couch. When it was six o’clock Harry asked him to stay for supper, which consisted of noodlesoup and rolls, he had barely finished his sentence, or Louis pecked his lips and asked what they were eating. They watched another film while eating their dinner. Harry spilled soup all over his trousers when he laughed too hard at one of Louis’s jokes. The latter looked quite smug at his achievement. Then they spent a large amount of time on the Wii (grown men are allowed to have one of those, right? If not, Harry did not give a shit) playing Mario Kart. Harry hit himself in the face once or twice with the remote. He was having a clumsy day. 

“I should probably take you home.” Louis peeked at the clock and sighed.

“You probably should.”

Harry grabbed his keys and Louis his backpack. They stepped outside the flat, babbling about the last film they watched while Harry switched off the lights and locked his door. They took the lift to get in the car park. Harry held the door of his car open for Louis so he could climb inside (“I see you have become a real gentleman, I didn't expect that to happen!”). They had spent a lot of time together in that car already. Harry got in as well and fastened his seat belt. He started the car and looked at Louis questioning. “Where is your habitat, babes?”  Louis chuckled and gave him his address. Harry stared at him, because he lived _two blocks away_. That’s ridiculously close. Louis was staring back at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“You live two blocks from here,” Harry stated dumbly. Louis’s mouth fell open.

“No way!” He exclaimed, stunned. Then they both started laughing. It was just bad luck they hadn’t met on the streets yet. Maybe it was faith; perhaps they were destined to be together all this time. Harry now believed so.

“I love you so fucking much. You are so stuck with me now,” he blabbed.

“I don’t mind being stuck with you.”

“You don't?” When he glanced to the side, he was met with a pair of blazing electric blue eyes.

“No, I really don't. I love you, Harry.” Louis said with such a strong voice, that Harry wanted to stay in that exact spot and listen to him talking forever. He felt a little stupid for ruining his own little joke by letting his insecurities get the best of him.“Don't feel stupid now, you're anything but.”

He gaped at him. “How did you know that?”

“I have known you for a long time, haven't I?” Louis cracked a smile at him, which he returned.

“I'm glad you have, according to scientists relationships are stronger when you are befriended as well.”

Louis laughed, “you read that article too?”

“It was well written and I think they might be right,” Harry anwered seriously. Louis hummed in agreement. They probably were. He hoped they were. He felt like what he had with Harry was different in comparison to his past relationships. It had only been a day, he knew that, but years of being close friends before going steady was new for him. It was nice to already know the other for so long. “Let's get you home now.”

It was only a ten minutes drive to Louis's building. Harry parked on the side of the road and they both got out of the car. It was already dark outside. Louis grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the entrance. They quickly ran up the stairs, as the lift was out of order, and stopped in front of Louis's door. They went inside and Louis roamed around the room, flipping light switches and turning on what seemed to be the heater. His flat was messy, but the homey kind. There were picture frames on every wall and shelf. Harry even recognised himself on some of them. He walked over to where Louis was standing and nosed his stubbly cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” They stayed like that for awhile, Harry's head leaning on Louis's shoulder – standing in the middle of the latter's lliving room. Harry felt Louis open his mouth, “we should go somewhere tomorrow.”

“We could meet up with Zayn and Liam, if you want to.” He hesitated.

“Will you fill them in first?”

“Of course.”

“Then I would like that, yes,” Harry smiled at him encouragingly.

“They won't be angry, Lou.” Louis nodded and they were silent until Harry spoke up again. “I don't want to sleep alone tonight.”

“Then stay here.”

“You sure?” Harry was already biting back a grin, because Louis wouldn't have said it if he did not want him to. Everything was so familiar, but still so strange and new.

Luckily, Louis had a double bed. It would have been a bit small for the both of them in a single bed. Harry lent the largest pair of pyjama trousers Louis owned and kept on wearing the shit he had on before. He also borrowed a toothbrush (and toothpaste, of course), for some reason Louis had three toothbrushes. They fell on the bd and shared a couple of minty kisses. Louis then put his head on Harry's chest, just like the night before. The talked about the next day for a few minutes, because Louis didn't know what he could expect from Liam and Zayn. At some point Louis excused himself and exited the room to pee. Harry lied alone on the sheets for a bout and then seized his phone. He looked through his messages, but it seemed like Liam lost his phone again (he was the neatest of them all, but he always lost the damn thing).

 He opened a new message and began to type.

_lads, i have found the love of my life again and his name is louis._

❄ ❄ ❄


End file.
